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Losing Helps Prepare You to Serve as a Successful National Titleholder

“Do exactly what it is that you dream of doing ­because I am living proof that dreams really come true.” — Dr. Debbye Turner, Miss America 1990

The Power of a Stubborn Refusal to Give Up

Debra Maffett, Miss America 1983

Another inspirational success story is Dr. Debbye Turner, whose arduous road to the 1990 Miss America crown would have exhausted a lesser competitor. She attributes her success to a stubborn refusal to give up:

“In my own life, determination and hard work and tenacity have been the keys to success. It took me seven years and eleven tries in two states to get here … and I’m so glad I didn’t stop trying! What is important is that with each failure we learn what else it takes to succeed and that we never give up.”

The Years of Losing Help Prepare You to Serve as a Successful National Titleholder

In fact, failure is often a catalyst for success, inspiring the perseverance and steady improvement that transform a contestant into a champion. Debra Maffett is a perfect example. Her five years of losing actually equipped her to serve as a nation­al titleholder. She says:

“As I look back on it, the whole experience was a growth process. I shouldn’t have won before because mentally I wasn’t ready, my talent wasn’t ready, and I wasn’t ready for the [national] stage. And I don’t think I could have handled the job. I was just a slow starter. But, by the time I won, I was ready. I was capable of handling the job and of doing a good job with it. So, it’s fortunate I didn’t win before.”

As these outstanding women prove, winners are often the individuals whose roads to the crown are the most difficult. Their failures shape them for victory and their perseverance literally carves a pathway to the throne. As Dr. Debbye Turner advises, no matter what setbacks you must overcome in pursuit of the crown:

“Do exactly what it is that you dream of doing ­because I am living proof that dreams really come true.”

Those inspiring words should be engraved on every entry form in the pageant world, for it is the singular quality that distinguishes winners from losers in pageants … and life. Never give up. And never lose sight of your dream.